The PwC Global Report On Automotive Retailing

Publication Date	February 2003
Publisher	About Publishing
Product Type	Report
Pages
ISBN Number	not applicable
Product Code	ABO00006

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Summary

Automotive retailing has faced significant hurdles in the past decade, and the challenges have varied by region, but for the most part, the traditional franchise dealer model has prevailed.

This exclusive report provides a complete guide to understanding how retail markets across the globe will change in the future and clearly identifies the sector's key trends, showing how they are set to affect your interests in the key markets.

How will the recasting of the automotive block exemption affect European retailers?

How will Japanese retailers restructure to accommodate OEMs continued attempts to cut costs and increase retail level productivity?

How are US retailers intending to recapture the billions of dollars surrendered to the customer as part of the intense incentive wars?

These and many other crucial industry questions are comprehensively addressed so you can make the right decisions to stay ahead of the competition. The report coverage is broken down under five key headings:

Market and branding
The Internet: attractive but elusive
Europe: regulators in the driving seat
North America: the retail revolution misfires
Japan: an end to the melancholy market

Content

Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: Market and branding
- Introduction
- How powerful is car advertising?
- Product is central
- Rolling the dice on the brand game board
- GM ends flawed US brand management experiment
- Toyota introduces new Scion youth-oriented brand in the US
- Lexus and Infiniti in the US
- Fascination with extreme luxury brands continues in Europe
- The rise of branding centres in Europe
- Japan's massive brand theme parks
- Brand-oriented events take greater prominence
- Incentives case study: how to avoid the weakest player's gambit
Chapter 3: The Internet: attractive but elusive
- Introduction
- North America
- The Internet remains attractive within constraints
- Autobytel hangs on
- CarsDirect re-engineers its business model
- CarPoint stretches into new services
- Other developments
- Europe
- The Internet sparks an information revolution
- Automaker experiments continue
- Japan
- Internet and e-commerce initiatives gathering steam
- Conclusion
Chapter 4: Europe: regulators in the driver's seat
- Introduction
- Block exemption
- September ruling begins retailing transition
- Some restrictions removed on Internet buying services
- No forced supermarket sales
- Dealers will be able to sell, or service, or do both
- Market trends
- US public dealers: next stop Europe?
- Incentives take many forms
- Europe remains overdealered
- Focus on build-to-order continues
- OEM-owned dealerships remain the exception
- Channels are likely to remain relatively fixed, though experiments continue
- Britain's dealer groups continue shakeout
- Conclusion
Chapter 5: North America: the retail revolution misfires
- The United States
- Introduction
- Surprising strength post 9/11 is fuelled by incentives
- Big Three market share continues to erode
- Massive business system disconnect
- Consolidation trends continue incrementally, with major size shifts
- OEMs abandon plans to own and operate dealers
- Public dealer groups survive, some thrive
- AutoNation: still the biggest, but no longer a revolutionary
- UnitedAuto Group: going global
- Sonic Automotive: classic approach yields results
- Asbury Automotive: the new kid on the public block
- Cars4U: Canada's integrated retailer
- CarMax: used car success after a rough start
- Experiments continue: Wal-Mart tests the used vehicle waters
- Canada
- A separate but changing market
- Dealer population grows slightly
Chapter 6: Japan: an end to the melancholy market?
- Introduction
- Domestic new car sales remain sluggish
- Minivehicles continue market share gains
- Imports gain share
- New focus on used car sales
- OEMs attempt restructuring moves
- New ways to connect with car buyers begin to emerge
- Other market trends
List of figures
- Figure 1: Vehicle attribute convergence over time
- Figure 2: Model proliferation: US market
- Figure 3: Advertising effectiveness: US light vehicle market 1995-1998
- Figure 4: OEM product line brand game board
- Figure 5: Automotive Internet leverage comparison: the Triad
- Figure 6: Forces at work: the US market
- Figure 7: Forces at work: profit divergence